Typically, bearing components undergo a series of grinding stages. Each grinding stage removes material from the components so that a final component can be constructed. Each of the bearing components have strict tolerances that need to be maintained so that the resulting bearing provides a low vibration rotational assembly. Before and/or during one or more of the grinding stages, each of the bearing components are measured to determine the dimensions of each of the bearings. If the bearing components fall outside of the specifications the components are rejected and/or reworked. The measurement tools that are used for the measurement of each of the bearing components may malfunction, be damaged, gradually lose calibration, or a combination thereof, thus, causing bearing components that are outside of the specifications to experience downstream grinding stages which may result in additional work, additional scrap, rejected parts, or a combination thereof. Examples of measurement and grinding systems may be found in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 4,070,851; 5,359,814; and 6,332,265; U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2006/0283017 and 2010/032590; and European Patent No. EP0356663B1 all of which are incorporated by reference herein for all purposes. Currently, movement of a grinding table is measured and compared to the measurements of a grinding gage during the initial stages of grinding so that the calibration of the gage is checked during the initial grinding stage. The current systems provide excellent results in verifying the system is in alignment; however, the current systems do not provide for adjustment of the system from part to part or adjustment of process variables so that calibration is adjusted form part to part and scrap is further reduced, tighter tolerances from part to part may be maintained, or both. The current system unexpectedly solves this problem by performing the process of the teachings herein.
Another difficulty experienced by current systems is determining the dimensions of a machine tool subsequent to machining each bearing blank. This challenge results in discarding some machining tools before they are fully worn, keeping machining tools in operation that are fully worn, using damaged machining tool, damaging the machining tools in a system that is not working properly, or a combination thereof. For example, if a circumference of the machining tool wears faster or slower than calculated and/or expected the machining of the bearing blank may be affected.
It would be attractive to have a system that has a high degree of reliability in measuring each bearing during one or more of the grinding stages and allows for adjustment of one or more process variables from part to part. It would be attractive to have a system that is not susceptible to malfunction, damage, and will not lose calibration. What is needed is a system that measures each component during each grinding stage so that out of tolerance parts may be reworked and/or the machine may be recalibrated before parts are rejected. What is needed is a system that accurately monitors the life of the machining tool so that the machining tool is taken out of operation when the useful life is removed, before out of specification bearing blanks are created, before the device is damaged, or a combination thereof.